‘Chicago Fire’ Kills off Beloved Character in Season 8 Premiere Twist

Chicago Fire‘s deadly cliffhanger ending to the Season 7 finale brought tragedy to firehouse 51. The Season 8 premiere followed the direct aftermath of the explosive finale ending, with the basement of the factory about to explode, as may of the firefighters remained in danger. Wednesday’s episode revealed serious injuries and one major death that will change the show forever.

Spoilers ahead for Chicago Fire Season 8 Premiere: “Sacred Ground”

The direct aftermath of the big cliffhanger showed the firefighters had a few moments before the big explosion, as Severide and most of the firefighters were able to find a hiding place in a separate room in the basement. Brett (Kara Killmer) and Foster (Annie Ilonzeh) enter the factory following Casey (Jesse Spencer) and Chief Boden’s (Eamonn Walker) orders before tragedy strikes.

The equipment in the basement blows up with one firefighter left outside of the adjacent room in the basement. The explosion also causes the first floor of the factory to collapse, leaving the lives of most of the crew in danger.

Foster and Boden are the first to be seen following the explosion, showing no signs of injury. Brett — who accepted a marriage proposal from the chaplain just before the call to the factory — wakes up from the blast and is revealed to have a severely broken arm. Emily helps her move, when Casey appears and apologizes for being responsible for her being in the building.

In the basement, the majority of the firefighters in the adjacent room appear to have made it out without too many injuries. However, Cruz (Joe Minoso) responds to a firefighter distress call and finds out that Otis (Yuri Sardarov) was the one who didn’t make it into the room before the blast and finds him unconscious.

The responders quickly take him into an ambulance, with Cruz staying by his side. He tells his friend they’re on their way to the hospital when he opens his uniform and sees Otis has serious burns all over his body.

The whole firehouse gathers at Med to wait for news when a doctor speaks to Boden. The show then shifts to Cruz talking to an unconscious Otis and saying he wishes he could go with him to “the better place.”

“I love you and I’m going to miss you,” Cruz says. At that moment, Otis wakes up and utters a phrase in another language before passing away.

The show then jumps to three months after Otis’ death and finds Brett living in Indiana with her fiancé very close to her family and her life before moving to Chicago. At the firehouse, the crew adjusts to new faces as Casey faces an investigation into his decision to tell the paramedics to go into the factory. He ends up getting cleared of all wrongdoing after Boden advocates for him with an impassioned speech during the hearing.

As Brett is left with her fiancé asking her to consider giving up being a firefighter, the end of the episode features Boden unveiling a memorial to Otis outside of the firehouse so generations to come can remember his legacy of being a hero.

What did you think about the Chicago Fire series premiere? The show airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.